Barbie turns 50 today! Inventor Ruth Handler introduced the fashion doll at the American International Toy Fair on March 9th, 1959. The doll's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Handler named her after her daughter Barbara, who was the inspiration behind the making of the first real adult doll for children to play with. The doll has made a killing for Mattel, despite almost annual controversies. You can catch up on Barbie's history and complicated family tree at Barbie Collector.*
Barbie has gone through almost constant design changes in 50 years. To celebrate the 50th anniversary, a slew of retro Barbie dolls are scheduled for release this year, including the 1959 original teenage fashion doll, the Malibu Barbie from 1971, and Barbie and the Rockers from 1986. While looking through the new dolls to be released this year, One particular doll, er, set of dolls (although they will be sold separately) intrigued me.

Yes, these are dolls designed to resemble the cast of the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie. That's Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock, Chris Pine as CaptainÂ Kirk, and Zoe Saldana as Lieutenant Uhura. Pretty good likenesses for Barbie dolls! They are a far sight better than the 1996 Star Trek Barbie and Ken. The new Star Trek dolls will be released April 20 for $43 each. The movie will be in theaters May 8th, unless they delay it yet again.